High school junior Alexander Swerdlow (pictured) matched a passion for giving back with a market he knew well to launch a social entrepreneurial venture -- GivingBackPacks.
GivingBackPacks’ mission is to help eradicate the problem of a lack of school supplies for underprivileged kids, ultimately increasing the standard of education in the United States by providing children with equal opportunities to succeed, Swerdlow said. GivingBackPacks is based on the 1-for-1 model, a platform used by social entrepreneurial companies such as TOMS Shoes and Warby Parker, whereby they give away one product for every product they sell.
Swerdlow, a 17-year old at Ransom Everglades High School in Miami, recognized that backpacks were an item bought by a large market of students and young professionals across all demographics every year, and he could make a big impact by giving away backpacks and school supplies with each backpack sold. Swerdlow honed the idea and began production over the "super exciting" summer while interning at The LAB Miami, an innovation hub in Wynwood. “I was able to get the company formed, manufacture and logo the bags, build a website, source the supplies and secure two large charities to take the bags in our program,” Swerdlow said.
GivingBackPacks has a program in place with The Chapman Partnership for the Homeless, a local nonprofit, and Pam’s Place, a New York hospital library program. GivingBackPacks also recently signed an agreement with The Haiti Initiative at Ransom Everglades, a program through which the Ransom Everglades community is providing supplies and utilities to an orphanage in Haiti. GivingBackPacks is the official school supply distributor, and is selling its backpacks at a discounted price to students and community members while giving a backpack loaded with school supplies to a child in the orphanage with each backpack sold.
The most recent “Give” took place at The Chapman Partnership, pictured below, where Swerdlow and friends brought backpacks filled with supplies to the children in the facility.
Visit www.givingbackpacks.com to buy a backpack and provide a child in need with a backpack filled with supplies. “You buy a bag, we give a bag – and together we will make a difference,” said Swerdlow.
